That scenario only works for the buyer if the transaction is completely mundane and without any challenges in a buyer’s market. A real estate attorney is not going to negotiate remedy issues, meet with contractors, work out a complicated change of plans due to the dominos not falling in expected time upstream for the other properties in associated transactions. A real estate attorney is not going to take a buyer’s panicked calls at 10 pm and talk them off the ledge and show them the path forward towards their goal. A real estate attorney does not have the boots on the ground market knowledge to guide a buyer with the best strategy for writing an offer for the particular dynamics of the situation. A real estate attorney is not going to show a buyer 27 houses over the course of 6 weeks and give up family time to do so. A real estate attorney doesn’t have access to off market properties. A real estate attorney won’t birddog for that buyer to get them into places before everyone else knows about them. But, you do you.

​@@EmilyFarberyou sound like a really good agent who adds value to the process. Unfortunately, most in the profession treat it like a hobby or second job. This has led a push to move away from using a percentage based intermediary in place of a flat fee company like FSBO, which is I think where things are headed long term. Keep adding value and you will be even more successful. No disrespect intended. I will trust myself and only myself for the biggest transaction of my life.

@@edmundohillary I appreciate your kind response. 🩷 I am a good agent. I also recognize that there are bad eggs in real estate…just like every profession. It frustrates me that Realtors, as a whole, are getting absolutely drug through the mud right now because most of the agents I know are really good people who take their job seriously. I think there will be a lot of unintended negative consequences for a lot of buyers when they find themselves in messy transactions without professional guidance.

@@EmilyFarber well put!!

I’m not sure I’m following you. My buyers sign an agreement a before ever even looking at homes in which my rate for my real estate services is specified. They know how much it costs to hire me. As of Aug 17th the field in the MLS that states the amount of compensation offered to the buyer’s brokerage will be gone, and as such, if my buyer wants to know if there is anything being offered, I will try to find out if there is compensation offered prior to scheduling a showing. The buyer makes the decision if they want to see the home or not and/or at that point, and write an offer or not. We can always write the request for my fee to be covered by the seller into the purchase agreement, and if the seller says no…well, then at that point the buyer makes the decision to move forward with the deal or not knowing they will be paying my fee. The buyer is the one “steering” themselves towards or away from properties. I am not steering anyone.

Hi there. I guess you could look at this two ways: 1. Cleaning the specific spots with an enzyme cleaner and then overall carpet cleaning is a lot cheaper than ripping out the flooring, sealing the sub flooring and putting in new flooring, so you might as well try it first. 2. If the carpet is cheap/builder grade, that stuff really doesn’t last much longer than about 5 years with normal wear and tear anyway, and you’ve got 7+ years on it plus animal pee, so…time for new carpet (but seal the subfloors before you reinstall)!

Thanks For the response. Actually This was a brand new home from builder. So ya std builder carpet grade :) The carpet in bedrooms however is not too bad (minus the pee stains n smell) but stairs and main livingnroom carpet looks beaten down, so have decided to change that to vinyl. And maybe try cleaning the bedrooms 1st and hopefully I get lucky 😊

lol! What’s the Omadome?

@@EmilyFarber If you live in Western Iowa you may have noticed a pattern over the last several years where a ton of snow will fall in Western Nebraska, a small amount In Omaha, then dump a ton in Western Iowa. The conspiracy theory is that the Air Force controls the weather so snow doesn't interrupt flight operations at SAC which is a few miles south of Omaha. Theorists have dubbed this protective dome over Omaha the Omadome :)

@@timcostanzo370 Fascinating! 🧐

It sure feels like it often times!

@@KM0AGA Mount Vernon is a beautiful town. I’m glad you found a place that makes you happy. I love living out in the country...although I don’t have as much land as you. Elbow room makes me happy, too.

In a way, that is starting to happen. For instance, when you put a new roof on a house, most insurance companies will give you a bit of a discount if your new shingles are class-4 impact resistant (which, unsurprisingly, cost more).

I was feeling a little salty about my own 15% increase, but after doing the research for this video, I realized that increase was actually on the low side compared to what many people were facing. What is frustrating, though, is feeling like you can’t make a claim unless the issue is “really bad” for fear of your insurance company dropping you. We had an upstairs toilet leak. In the process of fixing that, we discovered it had been leaking for quite a while, and the subfloor under it was rotted. To fix THAT, the tile in the bathroom had to be ripped out and replaced. To fix what happened between the floors, we had to cut a huge hole in our kitchen ceiling, remove the insulation, treated for mold, and then put it all back together. We did not make a claim with our insurance because it didn’t seem completely“worth it” once we would have paid our deductible. Good times, good times…

Gah! Its no fun. But, 90% of the country is facing homeowners insurance hate hikes. It’s a problem in a lot of areas!

💯! Iowa City’s downtown is wonderful!

Hi, thanks for watching and commenting! I don't have a solid answer on "does an agent need a signed buyer's rep agreement for emailing properties." NAR recently put out a video that made it sound like "working with a buyer" included assisting with their home search by setting them up on an auto-search through the MLS. However, my state association is saying this is NOT something that needs a buyer's rep signed in order to provide...so I'm not sure at this time because they're providing conflicting information. As for what happens if you don't buy a property...it will depend upon the terms of your agreement. Some agents may offer an "a la cart" option where a buyer pays for individual services (showings, offer writing, etc). However, it will probably be more likely to see agents offer their services for either a flat fee or percentage of sales price fee due upon closing. If no closing happens, no fee is collected. Some agents may decide to ask for a retainer up front and comp that back to buyers at closing...but keep the retainer if the buyer rep agreement is terminated.

I went to college in Ames, and was there once a week for about 5 years after. Then I got married, years went by. When I finally got back to Ames SO much had changed.

lol. Right. I’m plain BAD. That’s why I put so many educational videos about real estate on RU-vid to help people make informed decisions about their real estate goals. I’ve only helped hundreds and hundreds of people buy and sell, but what could I POSSIBLY know about marketing real property that someone who buys or sells one house every 10 years or so would know better? 😂

@@EmilyFarber you know you’re wrong ! ADMIT it ! Does that make sense to you ? That a seller pay a buyers agent??? The buyer should be paying their own agent! Simple as the seller is paying their agent to market and sell their own home! The chickens have come home to roost!